Chorley Holidays: The tradition of the Lancashire wakes week

'Waec' is thought to have been an Anglo-Saxon festival, which then became a religious celebration after the country's conversion to Christianity.  A parish would hold a festival on the day of their church’s patron saint, and the congregation would attend a late-night vigil of prayer - a ‘wake.’  As I'm sure you can imagine, any religious significance was soon forgotten and it grew into a lively occasion, with events such as bull baiting and bare-knuckle fighting.

Early life of Leonard Fairclough

Leonard Fairclough was born in Chorley on 17th November 1852. He was baptised 11 December 1852 as Leonard Waring, child of Mary Waring, single woman. He was probably born at his mother's home address of Fleet Street, Chorley. I can't confidently find her on censuses before Leonard's birth. However, she would have been aged about 20 on Leonard's birth, and having a child before marriage must have been a frightening experience.

Brook Mill

Brook Mill is located at the top of Brook Street, behind the Cardwell Arms pub. Presumably, it was so named as it sat by Eller Brook. The first proven trace I have of Brook Mill is in September 1866, where Cook and Slater were the cotton manufacturers there. I imagine the cottages on Brook Street were built not long after for employees, as these are mentioned not long after in 1868. In the 1871 census, George Cook is listed as a commercial clerk, and William Slater as the weaving manager.

Huyton Bleachworks (Davies and Eckersley)

In 1848, aged only 23, Benjamin Davies bought a old building located behind Pincroft. It had fallen into disuse from its earlier occupation as a printworks (explored in another post here). He went into partnership bleaching with Mr H.G. Rule, which lasted only a few years until some point between 1853 and 1855. In 1848, they had 20 hands working for them.

Adlington Higher Mill (Derbyshire and Blackburn)

The first trace of Adlington Higher Mill is a plan dated 1858, where it is owned by James Anderton. It's likely that this is a plan from when the building was built, as there is no trace of in 1854 and 1855 local trade directories, and there is no similarly shaped building on the 1845 map of Adlington.

Huyton Printworks

In its later years it became a bleachworks, but it started as a calico printworks, associated with the dyeing of cloth. It was situated behind Pincroft, on the banks of the River Douglas, and with the exception of the more modern red-bricked extension, it has all been demolished. Due to its position on the boundary line, it was sometimes classed as in Blackrod.

Adlington Blacking Mill

I first came found a reference to a blacking mill in Adlington in 2010, when Adlington parish records told me that my great-grandfather's family were living on 'Blacking Mill Lane' in Adlington in 1898 . Eventually, I found Blacking Mill Lane, which is now Harrison Road in lower Adlington, but I found almost no information on the blacking mill that it was named after.